Forever Broke
by sweet-garbonzo
Summary: A mysterious bounty takes Faye on a trip to uncover her past. Somwhere between Cowboy Funk and Brain Scratch.


AN: Hello, Beboppers! It's a Faye fic! Here goes nothing.

Please note: Italics indicates thought, emphasis on words, or a memory Faye is having. They will be blocked off with this: **...**

Most of Faye's memories are fresh to her - it's the first time she's seeing them. Keep that in mind. If I get some constructive criticism that'll encourage me to work on more chapters, so feel free to review.

****

} Let's kick the beat! {

Faye shook her head in an attempt to stay awake. She rubbed her eyes and groaned at her increasing desire to fall asleep. Sitting on her bed in her pajamas, Faye watched the mysterious video sent to her. It was something she often did when she couldn't sleep, or when she was feeling especially alone. In this instance, a dream had persuaded her to watch the video. 

__

I swear... I almost had it... She hunched over, studying the video: the various shots of the surroundings, people in Faye's past life, the cheer she performed, all for the hope that it would trigger some sort of memory.

She sighed in frustration. Faye couldn't remember anything. It was just her luck that she'd lose her memory _and_ the hospital would lose all records of her existence. It was as if she didn't exist at all. It gave her a feeling of great smallness. If she wasn't important enough to be remembered, then she wasn't really important enough to be appreciated either.

The bright screen was causing her tired eyes to squint. Turning the television off, she decided to give up for now. Drifting off to sleep, she vaguely wondered who she used to be.

And who she was supposed to be now.

****

Forever Broke

} By Sweet Garbonzo {

"Spike." The lanky bounty hunter's communicator caught his attention. Trying to seem inconspicuous, he brought the comm. to his ear.

"Yeah?"

"Stick with the plan. This is not the sort of thing you can just run blindly into," Jet's voice crackled through. "Faye's got your back, so don't let Loesner get to you." Spike rolled his eyes.

"What kind of bounty goes to basketball games anyway? It's not a good way to keep a cover."

"Just shut up and look for him. He's supposed to be sitting near the team. Your tickets were expensive, so don't waste it." The comm. beeped as the connection was cut out. Spike shoved the communicator into his front pocket, and glanced towards a beer girl glaring at a group of men teasing her. He smirked, and was glad that he didn't have to go undercover like Faye had. He put on the gold-framed glasses used to identify bounties and began his search.

Spike's impatience grew after a few moments of "searching" and decided that zooming in on a pretty blond girl a few rows down was more entertaining.

He suddenly heard a large crash and very angry yelling. Taking of the glasses, he saw Faye fuming, while the men she was catering were soaked with beer.

"What the hell?! What do you think you're doing, you stupid bitch?" a large man said. He stood, towering nearly a foot over Faye.

"HERE!" Faye shouted as she shoved the empty tray of beers in the large man's hands. "It's on me!" She stomped down the steps and out of Spike's sight. The giant oaf was speechless, surprised by the woman's actions. His buddies were laughing at him. Spike shrugged and once again searched through the crowds.

At halftime, Spike seriously considered just leaving, as Faye had done. He even rose from his seat and walked down the steps towards the exit. He leaned against the black railing in front of the seats as his gaze drifted to the home team, sitting at the bench.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen!" an announcer said suddenly. "The Free Throw Contest is about to begin! Please, check your tickets for this number: Row 17, Seat 230. If that is your number, please come down for your chance to shoot with our new rookie, Evan Scott!"

A quiet chatter could be heard around the stadium as excited fans read their tickets. An awkward pause followed as no one came forward.

"Once again," the announcer said sheepishly, "that number is Row 17, Seat 230." Spike looked at the ticket in his hand. He groaned at the dumb luck and slowly sauntered down to the middle of the court. The stadium cheered him on as he walked to the announcer. Spike's shoes were scuffing the shiny hardwood floor until he stopped near the free throw line. The announcer grinned and handed him a ball.

"Now, these are the rules: You can either try the throw yourself for $1000, or let Evan Scott throw it for you for $100. Which will it be?" Spike looked over at the young rookie walking his way. He was a handsome black man with long hair tied back with a ponytail. He was even taller and lankier than Spike himself was. Scott looked at him expectantly, waiting for Spike's decision.

__

Oh crap...

It was him. It was Loesner! Spike hadn't expected the bounty to be _on_ the team. He knew this would be his best chance to arrest him (the fates were in his favor with the winning ticket) but Jet had warned him against causing a scene. Spike wasn't one to follow sports, but flipping through the channels was enough for him to know that Scott was a big deal.

"So...?" The announcer asked after a long pause.

Spike shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not good at sports." He nodded to Scott. "You shoot the basket." He handed Scott the ball, who took it and proceeded to line up his shot.

"And _I'll_ be shooting you, unless you come without a fuss, _Orlando Loesner._" Spike groaned as Faye, still dressed as the beer girl, pointed her gun at Scott's head. Spike didn't see her come out onto the court. Now his whole plan was ruined.

"Faye," he snarled, "not in front of the adoring fans."

"Oh, fans of a murdering scumbag? Seems like they should straighten out their priorities." She dug her heels into the floor to keep her balance, and stared at Scott, who was looking rather frightened.

His patience was wearing thin. "Faye, you're ruining everything! Just go back to beer wenching and leave the _real_ work to me." 

Faye's eye twitched, and her attention shifted to Spike. She walked over to him, lazily gripping her Glock. "You are such a pig! You're just jealous because of my skills as a great bounty hunter."

While debating Faye's skills as a bounty hunter as opposed to her skills as a beer wench, the two failed to realize Evan Scott, aka Orlando Loesner, running from the court and escaping.

They did notice the security guards dragging them away for detainment. Faye for impersonating a beer caterer, and Spike for shooting his gun off indoors when he realized Scott was gone. Needless to say, the Black Dog was not a happy man when he came to bring them back to the Bebop.

"It was very simple," he said through gritted teeth. Spike was slouching on the yellow couch, kicking the TV in an attempt to pick up better reception. Jet was standing above him with his arms crossed in a menacing fashion. "You were told to wait until _after_ the game to catch Loesner. What I don't understand is how he managed to escape right in front of you, and how you managed to get yourselves in trouble."

"Don't blame me," Spike replied. "Blame the beer wench." Faye eye twitched angrily.

"I was doing my job as a bounty hunter. You know, catching the guy?"

"Well you did a great job, Faye. Especially the part where you didn't catch him."

"Excuse me!" Faye screeched. "Who was the one playing that stupid halftime game? You weren't even paying attention, Spike."

"For your information, _Faye Valentine,_ I was too. I had a plan and everything. You were just throwing beer on people."

A loud boom jolted Faye and caused Spike to jerk his head towards Jet, whose hand was slammed onto the metal table. "Enough! You two have got to learn to work together. And if you won't at least do that," He took turns glaring at both of them, "I'll just have to separate you two."

Spike snorted. It seemed like a childish decision to make, but hey, it was Jet. The guy did weird things.

"From now on Faye, you'll be doing research," Jet told her.

"That's not fair! I don't want to be cooped up here!" She spread her arms wide to emphasize the barren, dark corridors of the main room. "It's too boring."

"I'm sure you'll find something to do," Spike said smugly, glad that Faye had gotten the raw end of the deal.

"As for you, I'll be coming with you on bounty hunts from now on," Jet said. Spike ego deflated quickly. That was almost as bad as Faye being stuck on the Bebop.

"You're serious aren't you?"

"Very. I'm tired of you pulling stunts like this. We're losing more money than we're making. I don't want to come bail you out anymore." He walked away from the couch and down the hallway, letting them know the discussing was final.

Faye plopped into the yellow chair desperately. She huffed while Spike reached for a cigarette and a lighter in his pockets.

"So," he said, lighting the cigarette, "You're grounded, and I've got a babysitter." He inhaled slowly and exhaled, watching the smoke swirl above him.

"Go to hell," Faye replied bitterly. Spike smirked mischievously.

"Whatever you say, beer wench."

****

...

__

"Grounded! I can't believe this!" A skinny teenage girl in school uniform sits on a divan in a spacious, expensive looking living room. An older woman cries while a tall man stands in front of the girl. He has an air of grace and importance.

"If I ever catch you smoking again, we won't take you on the trip to Italy."

"Daddy, no! That's not fair!" the girl replies. She stands, hands fisted in anger. 

"You dare disrespect me?" The man yells. "I am your father!"

"I hate you!" the girl yells, running from the room. The mother is heard crying. The girl runs to the front door. 

She hears her father yell, "Where the hell do you think you're going? I'm not finished with you!" 

****

...

"Faye! Are you listening?"

Faye opened her eyes. A cigarette was dangling from her fingers. 

"Yeah."

"I said that we're going out. Look up the name Golden for me while we're gone." Jet had on his fashionable attire, the three-piece suit with the matching fedora hat. Spike's appearance was the same as usual, save for a rose in his front pocket and a hat which wasn't covering his fuzzy head very well. He was snickering at Faye.

She looked at the computer. Faye had no clue how to work that thing. It was like asking a chimp to write the great American novel. Though she would never admit that aloud.

"Fine. Whatever you say, master," she answered in a gloomy, depressed tone.

"Don't you start with me," Jet replied. "My ship, my rules. Got that?" Faye mumbled a reply.

"See ya sweet cheeks," Spike sarcastically said as they left the main room. "Have a great time."

She glared daggers as he left, then sighed pathetically while staring at the computer. She kicked it a bit; that always seemed to work for Spike. 

"Oh! I don't even know how to turn it on!" she said aloud to no one. "Come on..." she begged.

"Faye Faye!!" a voice shouted with glee. Next moment, Edward was wrapped around Faye's body, hugging her for dear life.

"Oomph!" Faye tried to yell.

"Ed is so glad you decided to stay!" Faye managed to peel the hyperactive child off of her.

"Yeah... I'm so glad.." she replied. "Where's the dog? I thought you two were like, buddies or something."

"Ein is napping after a terrible episode of MALARIA!" Ed stated dramatically. Faye hoped she wasn't serious.

"Okay. Good for him. Now... I'm busy working here," Faye replied, "So if you'll just leave me alone, I can get star-"

"Edward will help you!" the hacker said. She jumped behind the couch, and came back carrying the Tomato. Faye gave her a quizzical look until she realized Ed really _could_ help her.

"Oh!" Faye shouted with glee. "You're an angel, you know that kid?" Ed smiled and chuckled as she put on her goggles. 'Look up the name Golden would ya?"

End began typing furiously as the screen shifted colors and sped quickly past pictures and various web pages. She hummed a song that Faye chose to ignore; instead she tried to make out the images flying on the screen. A page of the ISSP's private database came up. After quickly typing in a password and looking through various files, another page, this time a criminal file, popped up.

"Eureka, paprika!" Ed sang, pointing to the Tomato's screen. A mug shot of a young, clean- man was on the screen. Faye mumbled as she read his stats aloud.

"Arson. That's it?" she paused a moment. "12 million is a bit pricey for arson."

Edward yawned. "Done now?"

"Sure," Faye replied. "Just keep this open so I can read it." Edward plopped on the floor and instantly fell asleep. Faye studied the man's profile repeatedly.

"Miles Golden... weird." 

****

...

__

The tall man stands in the living room, talking to another man. The teenage girl is older now. The two men talk intently, while the girl watches in the doorway. The tall man notices her. Smiling, he beckons her to come in.

"Sweetheart, I'd like you to meet an associate of mine." The other man is younger than the tall man, very handsome and charming. He smiles at the girl. She meekly smiles back.

****

...

"Nothing. It was a complete bust." Jet placed his hat on the table and sat in the yellow chair. 

"That's okay," Edward replied. 'Just as long as you brought lots of souvenirs!" 

"Eh.." Jet answered, obviously not in possession of a souvenir. 

"Here," Spike said, reaching for something in his coat. "Have this." He handed a dinner mint to Ed, who squealed with delight.

"SOUVENIR!" she shouted as she ran from the room. Faye entered wearing a robe with a towel wrapped around her hair.

"Oh, you guys are back?" she asked with mild interest. Jet grumbled.

"Please tell me you did some work?" he asked, expecting no for an answer.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Faye answered smugly. She pointed to the Tomato, where Golden's profile was on screen. Jet walked over and began to read it.

"It's a Christmas miracle," Spike added sarcastically. Faye stuck her tongue out at Spike.

"I really don't know about this guy," Jet said, still reading. "He's got multiple counts of arson, and yet he's never had a bounty before. And arson is usually kept in the ISSP. Something fishy about this one." 

"Really?" Faye asked. She hovered behind Jet. "I thought the name was weird."

"Must be a fake," Spike mumbled as he lit a cigarette. Jet nodded in agreement.

"What? Seriously?" Faye asked. "Why would somebody do that?"

"You're guess is as good as anybody's," Jet replied. "Could be a mistake. Or it could be revenge. Odds are he's just pissed off a girl somewhere, and she's trying to get even." Jet turned off the screen and walked out of the room. Spike lay down on the couch and turned on the TV.

"So that's it?" Faye asked. "You're not even gonna look for this guy?" Spike shrugged and kicked the TV. 

"I don't care about it. And Jet doesn't either. So just give it a rest already." He rolled over and buried his face in the couch.

Faye pulled the towel from her hair. She had a feeling they should go after this bounty, though she really didn't know why. And if they guys weren't going to do it, she'd do it herself.

With a little help from Edward, of course.

****

} End Chapter One {

AN: Whatcha think? I dunno if I'll keep writing this, but I think it has some potential. Review if you wish.


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